24 October 2024, Geneva, Switzerland - On United Nations Day, observed every year on 24 October, the research and training institutes of the United Nations reaffirm their essential role in building an integrated, effective, and future-ready UN system that delivers for people. This day marks the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter in 1945 — the founding moment of the Organization — and invites reflection on the UN’s enduring mission to promote peace, development, and human rights and how knowledge and learning support that mission.

23 October 2025, Geneva, Switzerland – UNITAR, jointly with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UNESCO, and Majmaah University, will host a Solutions Session at the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD) titled “Empowering Social Development through Higher Education Efforts: Scalable Leadership Solutions from LEAP‑FAST (Leaders in Higher Education Alliance and Programme - For Accelerating Sustainability Transformations).” The event will take place on 6 November 2025 from 15:00 to 16:15 Doha time in Room 3 of the Summit venue.

26 September 2025, Geneva, Switzerland - Building on the success of the 1st edition of the LEAP-FAST Certificate Programme, UNITAR and UNESCO, in academic partnership with Majmaah University and CIFAL Saudi Arabia, have launched the 2nd edition of the Programme.

19 September 2025, New York, NY - The Education for Tomorrow conference at the UN united global leaders, academics, and innovators to rethink education for the tech-driven future. Hosted by UNITAR and partners, it highlighted the role of AI, interdisciplinary learning, and a new concept called Industrialogy in promoting sustainability and global cooperation. Key launches included the Global Think Tank for STEAM Education and a hands-on workshop aligning education with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

20 Aug 2025, Geneva, Switzerland - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are relaunching the self-paced Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on SDG-aligned Budgeting. The course is designed to help governments, parliaments, and stakeholders better integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into national budgeting processes.

20 August 2025, Geneva, Switzerland — From 24 to 26 June 2025, UNITAR supported a three-day workshop in Castries, Saint Lucia, as part of the country’s ongoing experimental data project. The initiative aims to explore the integration of data collected via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with other sources, namely the 2022 Population and Housing Census, satellite imagery, household surveys, and citizen-generated data, to produce official statistics.

28 July 2025, Geneva, Switzerland - Global leaders in higher education and sustainable development convened during a dynamic side event at the 2025 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development to reaffirm higher education’s vital role in addressing the challenges of our century. Organized by UNITAR, UNESCO, and Majmaah University and CIFAL Saudi Arabia, the side event “Innovating across higher education space for more inclusive and sustainable future for all” spotlighted the momentum behind the Leaders in Higher Education Alliance Programme – For Accelerating Sustainability Transformations (LEAP-FAST), which is a global initiative uniting higher education institutions in fostering inclusive, transformative, and sustainable innovation.

July 14, 2025, New York, USA - UNITAR launched the tenth annual 2025 SDGs Learning Training and Practice (SDGs in Practice) series, in partnership with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), with the Opening Segment event hosted in Conference Room 11.

14 July 2025, Geneva, Switzerland - From 11 to 13 June 2025, UNITAR supported a workshop, “Harnessing Administrative Data Sources for Official Statistics Production: Migration and Environment/Climate Change statistics cases” in Grenada, implemented by Grenada’s Central Statistical Office (CSO). The workshop supports Grenada’s overarching objective of integrating administrative data into its national statistical framework, providing a space to formalize engagement between administrative data holders and the CSO for enhanced data quality.

In a world of rapid change and complex challenges, governments are increasingly recognizing the need to think ahead, plan better, and work together. The Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade of Seychelles realized the potential of strategic foresight and systems thinking for adopting a more integrated approach to strategic planning. What started as a collaboration between the government of Seychelles, the Resident Coordinator Office (RCO) for Mauritius and Seychelles in 2022, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), and UNITAR, is gradually evolving into a way of working for the Ministry.